NORTH FREEDOM, Wis. -- An effort to restore a one-of-a-kind train car has been derailed because of last month's flooding.

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The Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom is one of the oldest railway preservation centers in North America.

For the past two years, its volunteers have been actively fundraising to restore a fish car from the late 1800s -- the only one left in the world.

"We had such an influx of European immigrants that the nation was looking for a way to provide cheap food and part of that was to build up the fishing so people could fish and have food to eat," said railway manager Don Meyer. "The Badger No. 2 was built for the Wisconsin Fish Commission to carry fish from the hatcheries out to lakes and streams."

Restoring the car to its original state will cost $950,000.

The railway was approved for a challenge grant from the Jeffers Family Foundation in Janesville. If they raised $475,000 in two years, the foundation would match it dollar-for-dollar.

"It's an all or nothing grant," explained Meyer. "We have to match that $475,000 in order to get the $475,000. We can't do a partial; they won't match up to the amount we've raised."

The group was well on their way with only $70,000 left to go when the June flood hit and caused extensive damage to the railway tracks, yard and overall museum.

"We got hit by the flood, of course all our efforts had to be for flood recovery," explained Meyer. "It just put us in a really difficult position trying to finish off the challenge grant."

Now, instead of finalizing fundraising, volunteers spend their days repairing engines, passenger cars and the track itself.

"As we stand here now, it's hard to imagine that the water level could have gotten that high," said Meyer.

Starting on June 9, the Baraboo River overran its banks and covered the rail yard and tracks under as much as 6 feet of water.

Much of the foundation under the tracks was washed away.

"You can see erosion has elevated that switch stand, and if you go even further, you can tell by the shadows that some of those (railroad) ties have nothing under them," said Meyer.

Much of the brick-paved walkway was washed away.

And, engines and railcars which sat in standing water for days have to be restored before they are used again.

In total, flood damages at Mid-Continent are estimated at about $3 million.

"This was something we'd never seen before, not even close," said Meyer.

When asked if they plan to reopen, Meyer said, "Our guys have been here at this site since 1963. They've built what you see around you and gone through a lot of sweat equity. It was mostly volunteers who established this place, so to just give up would be unthinkable."

Meyer said he hopes to reopen the railway with limited, shorter runs by Aug. 1.

The longer, typical runs will have to wait until a second bridge is repaired further down the track.

Insurance is expected to pay for part of the railway damage, and the railway anticipates some FEMA dollars, but a large portion will be paid by the railway.

And, the railway is not giving up on its goal to meet the challenge grant. The group is hoping last-minute donors come through with the remaining $35,000 they need.

"The irony is the river doing us in when we're trying to raise money for the fish car," joked Meyer.